


(Not) On the Same Page

by hyacinth (Lexa_Alycia)



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dramedy, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Post-Season/Series 01, here have some background skarscha as a treat, not your average Azura bookclub au, witch drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexa_Alycia/pseuds/hyacinth
Summary: “I only brought it up as a suggestion,” Luz felt sick to her stomach. “I didn’t think Amity would…” She trailed off.Willow reached across the table and took Luz’s hand, giving it a light squeeze.“I know you’re worried about her, but you know as well as I do that Amity’s perfectly capable of handling herself.”Or the one where Luz agonizes over Amity applying to the Emperor's Coven.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 84
Kudos: 187





	1. Discord

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uniqueusernamegenerator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniqueusernamegenerator/gifts).



> IT'S HERE! This is the first toh fic I completed, but have been sitting on it since December because I wrote it for the [Coven of Color zine](https://twitter.com/CovenOfColor) which will be released 2/12 at 12pm CST! Yay! Check it out - there's amazing art and good fics all for free by some pretty cool people :))
> 
> Cover art by [phage_gaia](https://twitter.com/phage_gaia). I'm dedicating this fic to [ uniqueusernamegenerator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniqueusernamegenerator) because I am in awe of their writing style, which inspired the pacing and flow of this fic when I wrote it.

The bell screamed, making Luz jump as she added the witch hazel to her sleep draught. The ingredient slipped out of her hands, and the entire bottle went into her cauldron. Instead of a pale lavender, the concoction turned a stark violet. Luz cursed under her breath and ran a hand through her tousled hair.

Around her, classmates began to pack up their things to head to lunch. Luz sighed and decided to discard the ruined potion, she would just have to start all over again next class period. After disposing of the potion and cleaning up her work area, Luz shouldered her bag and made her way to the cafeteria, where Willow and Gus were waiting for her at a corner table.

“There you are!” Willow cocked her head. “What took you so long?”

“Yeah!” Gus added. “We were barely able to save some of today’s special for you, cockatrice egg omelettes!”

Luz smiled gratefully as her stomach rumbled. She plopped down next to Gus and dropped her bag on the floor.

“Thanks guys, I’m starving,” She started to dig into her food. “Sorry I’m late, I had to scrap a potion I had been working on in class cause I messed up. It took longer than expected to clean up.”

Willow waved a hand in the air.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Her eyes brightened. “So have you heard the news?”

Luz’s brows furrowed.

“Uh, no. What’s up?”

“Coven applications are finally open,” Willow grinned. 

“And guess who’s already halfway done?” Gus pulled a relatively thick packet of parchment out of nowhere. “The Illusion Coven won’t know what hit them!”

Luz smiled.

“That’s great! It looks like we’ll be able to finally put our grand plan into action!” Thinking of their plan made her remember something, or rather, someone. Luz glanced around. “Wait, where’s Amity?”

Willow shrugged.

“Dunno, last I saw of her she was pushing through the crowd to get to the Emperor’s Coven applications.”

Luz’s stomach dropped. Her fork slipped from her hand and clattered loudly as it hit the table.

“What?” She croaked.

Willow gave her a confused look.

“You didn’t know?”

Luz leaned back in her seat and frowned.

“I thought she was going to apply to the Abomination Coven.”

“Uh, Luz it was your idea to have someone get into the Emperor’s Coven,” Gus pointed at her with his fork. “For the plan, remember?”

Luz shook her head.

“I only brought it up as a suggestion,” She felt sick to her stomach. “I didn’t think Amity would…” She trailed off. 

Willow reached across the table and took Luz’s hand, giving it a light squeeze.

“I know you’re worried about her, but you know as well as I do that Amity’s perfectly capable of handling herself.”

Luz pressed her lips together. Willow was right, but that didn’t make Luz feel any better about one of her best friends going undercover with an oppressive police force so they could try to gain an upper hand against Belos. There’s no telling what could happen, and so many things could go terribly wrong.

Yet, the root of Luz’s concerns ran a little bit deeper. 

The truth was that-

“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” Amity sat down next to Willow and slipped off her bookbag. “The line for coven applications was a nightmare.”

Luz didn’t say anything. She averted her gaze away from Amity and stared forlornly at her food. This didn’t go unnoticed by Amity, whose eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Just as she was about to ask Luz what was wrong, Willow jumped in.

“Amity!” She clapped her hands together. “Are we still on for practicing plant magic afterschool?”

Amity tore her gaze away from Luz and turned to Willow.

“Oh,” She nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

Gus jumped in after that, asking if he could join them. Their conversation soon turned to what types of plant magic they would be practicing. Amity was more interested in offensive magic, but Willow insisted on perfecting defensive spells first. Gus listened and contributed his own thoughts when he felt it was appropriate. Meanwhile, Luz quickly finished the rest of her lunch and stood from her seat abruptly, the metal legs scraping loudly against the floor.

“I just remembered I promised to meet Bo during lunch,” Luz picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “She’s going to show me a few more types of healing spells to see if I can get the glyphs down. Bye!”

Luz turned and ran off, not even giving a chance for her friends to say goodbye.

“Luz seems a bit off today,” Amity frowned and turned to Willow. “Did something happen?”

Willow opened her mouth to respond but Gus cut her off.

“Nope! I think she was a bit thrown off by messing up in Potions class.”

Amity hummed, seeming to accept the answer. She settled back into her seat and resumed eating her lunch. Willow gave Gus a judgemental look but he only shrugged in response.

\---- ---- ----

Amity rubbed her tired eyes as she scanned over the coven application again. Filling it out wasn’t necessarily hard, but the process was extremely tedious. It was several pages long, she had to include her biographical information, academic records, and answer essay questions regarding her interest in joining the Emperor’s Coven. Unlike the other covens, once she submitted it, she would be invited to try out for a position by competing against another applicant in a witch’s duel to test her combat abilities. 

Amity wasn’t too worried about getting in. For one: her parents had several connections within the Emperor’s Coven and had spent many years strengthening them so that they could place her there. Her siblings had managed to avoid her fate by devoting themselves to their Illusion magic and quickly rising to the top ranks of the Illusion Coven when they graduated from Hexside.

Of course Amity was confident that her magical abilities and impeccable grades would surely earn her a well-deserved position within the coven. Afterall, she had managed to maintain her position as the top student of the Abomination track for four years now. Not to mention committing to countless training sessions with her friends, where she was able to practice other types of magic to improve her combat skills.

But did she really want to join the coven?

Not at all.

Ever since Amity had learned of what had happened the day of Eda’s attempted petrification, from Luz being kidnapped to her fight with Belos, she realized just how oppressive and wrong the Emperor’s Coven was as an institution. They didn’t work to make citizens of the Isles any safer, rather they only aimed to enforce Belos’ will. And Amity wasn’t exactly fond of him given that he had tried to kill her best friend (and crush). 

Her feelings for Luz certainly made her biased against the Emperor’s Coven and Belos, but she had her own separate reasons for disliking them as well. Luz and Eda had helped her, and their other friends realize that everything Belos spewed were lies meant to maintain his grip over the Boiling Isles. Wild magic wasn’t evil or wrong. It was freeing. That’s why Eda had been able to become the most powerful witch in the Isles, and a threat to Belos’ rule. 

The coven system enshrined by law forcefully limited witch’s magic for no good reason, other than to benefit the Emperor. Amity firmly believed that witches should be able to practice whatever magic they so choose. She herself loathed the thought of having to give up her elemental magic (fire spells had especially endeared her) if she were to join the Abomination Coven.

So while she hated the thought of having to join ranks with the very same people she sought to take down, she knew that there were no other viable options available to her. If their plan to take down Belos was going to work, they would need someone on the inside feeding them information. And there was no one better suited for the job than her.

Amity was about to jot down another answer on the endless application when the door to her secret room opened, and Luz peeked her head in. Amity blinked, and then her eyes widened. Today was their weekly Azura book club meeting. How could she have forgotten? 

“Hey! I’m not late, am I?” Luz rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Eda and Lilith had me go on a supply run in town. But, I was able to borrow Owlbert so it didn’t take me too long.”

Amity glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and shook her head.

“You’re right on time,” She tucked the application forms away into her folder and rose to her feet. She stretched her arms up in the air and stifled a yawn. “We’re reviewing book five today right?”

Luz tried and failed to ignore-  _ were those abs?- _ that became briefly visible as Amity’s shirt rode up her stomach. She swallowed and managed to respond, shifting on her feet.

“Yup!” She waved her copy in the air with a practiced flourish. “And I brought snacks from the Owl House!”

Amity smiled. 

“Sweet, did you get-”

“Tailypo Truffles?” Luz grinned. “Duh! I know they’re your favorite.”

Amity blushed. Even after all these years, Luz’s endearing personality never failed to fluster her. 

Luz pulled their bean bag chairs to the center of the room and Amity joined her on the floor after retrieving her own copy from the shelf. Luz pulled the snacks out of her bag, setting them down on the floor in between them. Amity set her copy down onto her lap and looked up at Luz.

“Anything in particular you want to cover in our review?”

Luz tapped a finger to her lips contemplatively. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers.

“Ooh! Can we do a deep dive into Hecate’s redemption arc?”

Amity arched an eyebrow. While they had talked extensively about Azura’s budding relationship with Hecate that had begun to flourish in book six, she couldn’t recall ever discussing Hecate’s redemption from evil. She personally didn’t care for how Gilthy Tabalm had gone about it, but she was still curious to hear Luz’s thoughts.

“Sure,” She shrugged. “Want to go first?”

Luz nodded her head enthusiastically.

“Yeah!” She set her book on the floor and knitted her fingers together. “So when Hecate was first introduced in book two, I didn’t like her at all! I didn’t understand why she was working with Queen Celesta and Rifaris the Sorcerer in their conquest of Adeotara when they were so obviously evil! But, as Tabalm developed her character over books three and four, I realized that she was motivated by a desire to unite the Fractured Realm. She grew up seeing multiple civil wars pillage the region, and even lost her parents in the Shadow War. She believed that the unification of Egosia, Ioddalan, Flokurene, and Adeotara would put an end to all of the violence once and for all.” 

Amity hummed.

_ Luz isn’t wrong, but Hecate was still complicit in the genocide of the Etilion fae, not to mention the executions of captured members of the resistance and other war crimes ordered by the Queen.  _

“And from the get go, she had an emotionally charged dynamic with Azura,” Luz continued. “Their banter was amazingly well-written, and each interaction they had with each other had me wanting for more. Azura was the perfect person to help Hecate realize the error of her ways. Azura sees the potential in good for everyone, no matter who they are or what they’ve done.”

Amity smiled to herself.

_ Just like you. _

“Hecate was initially distrustful of Azura and warded off any attempts to improve their relationship, a classic tsundere move,” Luz nodded knowingly to herself.

Amity’s brows furrowed.

_ Tsundere? _

She was about to ask Luz what she meant, but her friend continued rambling.

“But eventually, Azura was able to get through to her!” Luz beamed. “Honestly, seeing Hecate’s character growth over the series made her my favorite character, second only to Azura herself. So I’m really glad she was finally redeemed in book five!” She leaned back and placed her hands on the floor behind her.

Amity cocked her head.

“Okay, but what did you think of her redemption arc?”

“It was fine, made perfect sense to me,” Luz shrugged. “I know there was a lot of controversy over how it was carried out, but I don’t see what the big fuss was about.” 

Amity groaned and ran a hand over her face before replying.

“Luz, a character shouldn’t get to be redeemed simply because you like them!”

"Hey! That’s not my only reasoning for Hecate’s redemption! And I thought you shipped Azura and Hecate!" Luz protested.

"I do. Just because I don't mindlessly accept Hecate's rushed redemption arc doesn't mean I dislike their dynamic."

“It wasn’t rushed!”

Amity deadpanned.

“Luz, it took place over the course of four chapters.”

“Those chapters were a lot longer than normal!” Luz insisted.

“Book five was 40 chapters, a lot more time could have been devoted to Hecate making amends for her actions before Azura forgave her.”

“Well, for the sake of argument-”

Amity chuckled dryly.   
  


“You do realize people only say that when they have nothing else meaningful to add to the conversation, right?” 

“Let me finish!” Luz scowled at being interrupted.

“Finish what?” Amity scoffed, growing irritated at her friend’s complete lack of literary criticism. It wasn’t often they disagreed, but Amity knew she was right. “Your moot point?”

“I-”

“If I spent seven years being on the opposite side of a conflict with you only to suddenly say: my bad, you’d still be pretty mad at me!” Amity argued. “It makes zero sense that Azura instantly forgave her after the Water Trials Arc.”

“Azura is a very forgiving person, and Hecate saved her life!” 

Amity crossed her arms.

“One good deed doesn’t cancel out many hurtful and cruel decisions.”

Luz shook her head and her eyes softened. 

“But it’s a start,” Luz leaned forward. “People aren’t binary Amity, someone can feel conflicted their whole lives, making misguided mistakes along the way, and still turn out pretty cool.”

"Like who?" Amity raised an eyebrow. “Hecate was never conflicted with what she had done until Rifaris backstabbed her after the battle in Plemmedu Forest, shattering her reality.”

Luz swallowed and gave Amity a long, hard look. 

"Like you."

Amity jolted. Unable to maintain Luz’s serious gaze, she turned away.

“...That’s different.”

Luz hummed.

“I think you and Hecate have a lot more in common than you think,” Luz reached out and took hold of Amity’s hand, giving a gentle squeeze. Amity’s cheeks pinked, but Luz didn’t notice since she had glanced down at their joined hands. “For one, you both love to hold grudges.”

“I do not!” Amity exclaimed.

Luz ignored her friend’s protest.

“You’re both incredibly powerful witches,” Luz added, smirking as Amity finally turned to meet her eyes.

“Well, obviously.”

Luz smiled fondly at her friend’s abashed expression before she remembered Willow’s news from earlier today.

“And,” She took a deep breath. “You’re both willing to sacrifice yourselves for the sake of others, even when it’s unnecessary.”

Amity’s eyes widened.

“Wh- What do you mean?” 

Luz pressed her lips together in a thin line before answering.

“I know you’re planning on applying to the Emperor’s Coven,” She squeezed Amity's hand again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Amity pulled her hand out of Luz’s grasp, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. She missed the hurt that flashed across Luz’s face as she briefly glanced at her desk, where the application was still waiting to be completed.

“I didn’t think I needed to.”

Luz’s jaw dropped.

“Amity, how could you think that!” Luz grabbed her by the shoulders. “This is a really big deal!”

Amity took Luz’s hands and pushed them away. Her friend always had a tendency to be a bit overdramatic.

“It’s really not,” Amity tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Plus, my parents already expected me to join the coven, so I won’t have to worry about them.”

Luz frowned. Luz knew how fraught the relationship Amity had with her parents was. After fighting the Emperor, Amity had avoided her for two weeks fearing what her parents would do if they found out they were friends. She couldn’t help but think that the Blight parents were a primary reason why Amity was applying to the Emperor’s Coven.

“You won’t have to worry about them once you turn 18 in a month,” Luz gave her friend a pleading look. “You don’t have to live under their thumb anymore.”

“I know that,” Amity gave Luz a weird look. “They’re not why I’m applying. I’m doing it for our plan.”

Luz shook her head.

“You don’t have to do it for the plan either.”

Amity gave Luz an incredulous look, rising to her feet and placing a hand on her hip.

“Wasn’t this your idea?”

Luz stood up, and nodded reluctantly.

“Yeah, but it was only a suggestion,” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “I didn’t think y- someone would actually apply.”

Amity rolled her eyes.

“Well, I am. So that’s that.”

Luz took a few moments to respond, and when she did, her voice was soft.

“Please don’t.”

Amity was dumbfounded by Luz’s crestfallen expression. Did she not think she was capable of handling this?

“Luz, I get that it’ll be dangerous but you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

Luz frowned.

“It  _ is _ dangerous. That’s why you shouldn’t do it. You could get hurt, or worse.”

Amity huffed.

“Like I said, I can handle whatever happens.”

“No you can’t,” Luz shook her head. “We don’t know for sure what’ll happen to you, or what they’ll make you do. I should’ve never suggested it.”

Amity pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Luz, what is your problem? Why don’t you believe in me?” 

“I do, I- I just…” Luz faltered.

_ “What?” _ Amity asked as a wave of irritation washed over her.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt!”

Normally, Amity would have found Luz’s concern over her well being sweet and endearing, but in that moment she only felt betrayal. After everything they had been through together, all the times they had looked out for each other, Luz still didn’t trust her to take care of herself. Her stomach flip flopped and she pushed down her insecurities that had begun to resurface.

Amity sighed.

“I hear you Luz, but I’m not changing my mind.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Amity interrupted her, shaking her head. She walked over to her desk and began to gather her things. Their book club meeting was clearly over. “I’m done talking about this. Now-” Amity glanced up and was shocked to see Luz fuming at her, tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.

“Fine! Be that way,” Luz choked out before she spun on her heels, wrenched open the door, and stormed out of the room.

Amity could only watch in disbelief as Luz’s retreating figure quickly disappeared around the corner. After a moment, she blinked.

_ What just happened? _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear, Luz and co. are in their senior year of Hexside. :))


	2. Impasse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls are fighting.

Luz had been barely able to hold back her tears as she left Amity behind and ran as fast as she could back to the Owl House. She whizzed past Hooty who had tried to say hello, only to have his face slammed against the wall as Luz swung the door open. She ignored the greetings of Eda, Lilith, and King and made her way up the stairs. As she entered her bedroom, Luz closed the door behind her with a loud bang.

It was only then she allowed herself to collapse onto the floor, mentally and physically spent.

She had argued with Amity before. They didn’t agree on everything, even if they did share some of the same interests. But things had never escalated to this extent, and now Luz was worried she had ruined everything, all because she couldn’t control her feelings.

Because… 

Because the truth was that she was in love with Amity, and was too scared to tell her.

Because who would ever love someone like her? 

Back home, everyone had hated her. Luz felt lucky to have made some friends in the Boiling Isles who had accepted her, quirks and all, but someone being romantically interested in her? That was out of the question.

She was just an oddball human from another world not knowing what the hell she was doing half the time. Compared the other far more interesting and capable witches she knew, no one would ever be interested in her. Afterall, what did she have to offer? 

Ironically, her fear of rejection and subsequent efforts to hide her feelings had completely backfired, and Luz had probably ruined her friendship with Amity anyway. Luz laughed bitterly to herself, shaking her head as she looked up and stared at the ceiling.

_ I’m such an idiot. _

She lifted up the end of her shirt and used it to wipe the tears that stained her face. Once she finished, she lumbered over to her bed and face planted onto it with a muffled groan.

_ What am I going to do? _

Luz didn’t want Amity to join the Emperor’s Coven at all. She had seen first hand what happened to Lilith as a result of working within the coven. Lilith had been driven by a desire to save her sister, and ended up nearly killing her instead, believing that capturing Eda for Belos was the only way to get what she wanted. 

Luz’s mind was buzzing with everything that could go wrong if Amity joined the coven. 

What if Amity was driven into a corner, and was forced to do something she’d regret because she felt like she had no other choice?

What if Amity had to fight against her own friends, just to maintain her cover?

And what would Luz do if she found herself at the other end of Amity’s palisman staff?

She could never bring herself to hurt Amity. While she would willingly sacrifice her life to save Amity’s, Luz knew that her friend would never forgive herself if something happened to her.

All she wanted was to keep her friend safe, and out of harm’s way.

But she couldn’t do that if she allowed Amity to apply to the Emperor’s Coven.

Luz flipped onto her side, facing the door, and saw the framed photo she had on her nightstand. It was the Grom yearbook photo she had taken with Willow, Gus, and Amity four years ago. Everyone was smiling, and Luz had an arm wrapped around Amity in a half-hug. 

She gripped the bedsheets around her tightly, her mind made up. In that moment, Luz resolved to do everything in her power to change Amity’s mind. 

And if Amity still wouldn’t budge, well, she would have to improvise. 

\---- ---- ----

The next day was Friday, and Luz arrived at school early to talk to Amity. After waiting several minutes at the school’s entrance with no sign of her friend, Luz figured she must be inside already. So she went by her locker, all of the restrooms, and even the secret room of shortcuts that Luz had shown her some time ago. But Amity was nowhere to be found. 

Luz was pacing in front of the Abomination classroom she recognized as Amity’s first period class when Willow tapped her on the shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Luz jumped in surprise, but relaxed as soon as she saw Willow.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” She waved a hand in the air nonchalantly, but the way her eyes scanned the hallway in either direction told another story. 

Willow raised an eyebrow.

“Are you looking for Amity?”

“Amity!” Luz’s voice cracked. “What? No!”

Willow’s eyes narrowed.

“Then why are you pacing back and forth in front of her classroom like someone who’s just chugged an entire gallon of firespirits?”

“Uhh…”

Willow sighed.

“Luz, please don’t lie to me,” She placed a hand on her hip. “You’re horrible at it.”

Luz’s shoulders drooped.

“Okay fine. Yes, I’m looking for Amity,” She perked up. “Have you seen her?”

“Nope,” Willow folded her arms. “Don’t you remember? Today’s a field trip for the Abomination track. They’re gone all day, so you won’t see her until school on Monday.” 

Luz slapped her hands to her cheeks.

“No, no, no,” She shook her head. “I could be too late by then,” She murmured to herself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” Luz replied, a little too loudly.

Willow frowned.

“Luz.”

“Okay, not nothing,” Luz conceded.

“So, what’s up?”

Luz swallowed nervously as she tried to come up with a lie for her erratic behavior. But Willow always managed to get her to talk and be honest, even if she was adamant about refusing to. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, so Luz decided to give in. Maybe Willow would have some sage advice that could help her.

“Amity’s joining the Emperor’s Coven and I have to stop her.”

“What? Why?” Willow asked curiously, her brows furrowing.

“Because,” Luz took a deep breath to ready herself, and felt ready to toss up her breakfast. Wow. This was harder than expected. She had never told anyone about her feelings for Amity before. “Because I-”

The bell screamed, making both witches jump. Willow’s eyes widened.

“Thorns! My class is on the other side of school!” She took Luz by the shoulders. “This conversation isn’t over, I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

Before Luz could even respond, Willow turned and took off down the hallway. Luz let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through her hair.

_ Saved by the bell, thank Titan. _

And then, she let out a string of colorful curses in Spanish as she realized she was going to be late to her first period Oracle class. Luz sprinted down the hallway, hoping that Barcus had managed to save her a seat.

\---- ---- ----

Lunchtime came far too soon for Luz’s liking. She dragged her feet to the cafeteria, where she knew Willow and Gus were waiting for her. As soon as she entered the room, they spotted her and waved her over. Luz tried (and failed) to settle her nerves as she made her way over to her friends. Willow had grabbed an extra serving for her and pushed it towards her as Luz sat down across from them. 

Luz didn’t give the food a second glance. She opted to prop her elbows on the table and bury her face in her hands. 

“Is she-” Gus started.

“Give her a minute,” Willow said.

Approximately a minute later, Luz looked up at them with a pained expression.

“I’m in love with Amity.”

There was an awkward lull in which nothing more was said, and then-

“I knew it!” Gus whooped, a cheerful grin spreading across his face.

“Gus!” Willow chided as she elbowed him in the side. “This is serious.”

“Sorry,” He winced. “I just got really excited.”

Willow reached out and gave Luz’s hand a squeeze.

“Just so you know, I also knew.”

Luz gaped at her friends.

“Was I really that obvious?”

Willow and Gus nodded solemnly at her.

“Yeah,” Gus chuckled. “It’s kinda ironic now that I think about it because-”

Under the table, Willow stomped on his foot. Gus yelped and sealed his lips, but not before managing to whisper, “Message received.”

Luz opened her mouth to respond, but Willow beat her to the punch.

“So let me get this straight,” Willow leaned forward. “You’re in love with Amity, and that’s why you don’t want her to join the Emperor’s Coven.”

Luz nodded, too tongue tied to say anything at the moment.

“Wait, but those two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” Gus said. “You could have feelings for her and still be okay with her applying to the coven.”

“I know, I-,” Luz’s throat was dry. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

Willow and Gus both awed, making Luz flush. 

“That’s so cute!” Gus clapped his hands together. “Ooh! You should tell her how you feel!”

Luz’s face dropped and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“I don’t plan to.”

“Why-” 

Willow stopped Gus with a hand on his shoulder, and shook her head. Luz continued.

“There’s no way she likes me back.”

Willow couldn’t help but snort. She immediately covered her mouth, feeling slightly guilty as Luz shot her a wounded look.

“Luz, I wasn’t laughing at you. It’s just that-” She paused, considering how much information she should divulge to her friend. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. I agree with Gus, you should go for it.”

“I don’t know…” Luz frowned. 

Willow squeezed her hand again.

“It’s okay if you’re not sure right now, but please promise me you’ll think about it before doing anything reckless.”

“Reckless?” Luz waved a hand flippantly. “Me? Never.”

\---- ---- ----

When school rolled around again on Monday, Luz was ready to face Amity.

Or at least, as ready as she could be.

After grabbing her textbooks from her locker, she made her way to her first period class. Hexside was on a block schedule, so today she had Advanced Abomination Magic & Summoning, with Amity. Just her luck. 

She entered the classroom and looked around. It wasn’t hard to spot Amity. Her trademark teal hair, with brown roots growing in, stuck out like a sore thumb. She was sitting in the front row on the far side of the room. Luz steeled her nerves, and walked over to her desk.

“Is this seat taken?” Luz asked nervously.

Amity glanced up from where she had been organizing her notes. Her expression was neutral, and Luz didn’t know whether or not that was a good sign.

“No,” She turned back to her work and didn’t say anything more.

Luz sat down next to Amity and began pulling out her own notes, including her pad of glyphs. She tried making eye contact with Amity again to initiate a conversation but Amity never looked her way. Luz was about to say something when the morning bell screamed, and Mr. Blanc began class.

They didn’t exchange another word with each other the entire period. Today was a lecture, so Luz tried to focus on taking notes while glancing at Amity out of the corner of her eye every so often. Amity never looked her way, her gaze was set on the teacher and her notebook. Luz felt herself grow more and more irritated. Yes, she had been the one to storm out of their book club, but they needed to talk. 

Once class ended, Luz tapped Amity on the shoulder.

“Hey, can we-”

“Sorry Luz, I have to get to my next class,” Amity brushed past her and out of the room before she could blink.

Luz sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It looked like any conversation with Amity would have to wait for lunchtime.

\---- ---- ----

Luz rushed to the cafeteria as soon as the bell screamed. There was no way Amity was getting out of talking to her, not if she could help it. She spotted her sitting with Willow and Gus, engaged in a hushed conversation that halted as soon as she walked up to their table.

“What are we talking about?” Luz asked as she sat down next to Gus, directly across from Amity.

Her friends exchanged an uneasy glance, before Willow answered.

“Just the field trip Amity went on last Friday.”

Luz raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” She faced Amity. “Where did you go?”

Amity hesitated before answering.

“The Abomination Coven headquarters. It was mainly for seniors to get an idea of what the coven is like before applying.”

Luz’s expression brightened.

“So you changed your mind then?” She grinned. 

Amity frowned and shook her head.

“No, I haven’t,” She leaned back in her seat. “It was a mandatory field trip, I had to go for class credit.”

Luz’s face fell. It looked like she would have to put in more effort to change Amity’s mind. She was about to ask her to reconsider her decision when Gus chimed in and changed the topic.

“Have you guys thought about what animal you’re going to carve for your palisman staff,” He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “I was thinking of something from the human realm! Luz, can you give me some options to work with?”

Luz held Amity’s gaze for a moment longer before turning to Gus and forcing a smile.

“Yeah, of course!” She pulled out her sketchbook from her book bag and opened it to a clean page. “What vibe are you going for?”

“What’s a vibe?” Gus asked, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion.

“It’s-” Luz started.

“It’s a human term for the emotional state of a person or the atmosphere of a place or thing,” Amity answered.

Luz swiveled her head to look at Amity, but she avoided meeting her eyes, choosing to dig into her lunch instead. If she had directed her attention upwards, Luz would have noticed her friend’s pointed ears tinge red at the ends.

“Oh, wow!” Gus pulled out a worn journal. “I better add it to my human-lingo list!” 

“I’m thinking of a gilderdragon,” Willow said, almost as an afterthought.

Luz’s eyes widened and turned to Willow.

“A dragon?” She gasped. “That would be amazing!”

“Thanks,” Willow pushed her glasses up. “What were you thinking?”

“Either an otter or a black cat,” Luz responded immediately.

“I don’t know what either of those things are, but they sound great,” Willow nudged Amity on the shoulder. “How about you?”

Amity swallowed her food before answering.

“A pygmy lop.”

Luz gaped at her friend. That was the Boiling Isles version of a rabbit.

“Is it because of-”

“Yes,” Amity cut her off.

Luz squealed.

“That is adorable!” Her tone took on a teasing lilt. “Are you gonna name your palisman Otabin too?”

Amity rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“No, I’m going to come up with an original name.”

The underlying tension between Luz and Amity subsided for the rest of lunch as they continued talking about carving their palismans in just a few weeks' time.

By the time the bell screamed, Luz had nearly forgotten what she wanted to talk to Amity about. It wasn’t until Amity and Gus had waved goodbye and took off for their next class that Luz face palmed.

“Mierda.”

Willow noticed her friend’s distress and patted her on the shoulder.

“Coven applications are due on Thursday, you have plenty of time before then to talk to Amity about your… concerns,” She winked at her.

“Sh- Shut up!” Luz stammered as Willow chuckled at her friend.

\---- ---- ----

Luz didn’t see Amity at all on Tuesday, which was aggravating. It was almost as if she was avoiding her, which was absurd. Amity was someone who faced things head on. Right?

Luz scanned the lunch room for her, but Willow informed her that Amity had stayed behind in one of her classes to grade papers as a teacher’s assistant for a lower-division class.

“You still have time, try not to work yourself too much about it.”

Luz hummed but she really wasn’t paying attention to Willow. 

Willow sighed.

“And Luz, please promise me that once you talk to Amity, you’ll respect her final decision.”

Luz gave her a bewildered look.

“What?” She placed a hand on her chest in mock offense. “Of course I will!” 

_ Only if she agrees with me, that is. _

Luz decided not to voice that last thought, since she didn’t want to hear Willow scold her. She was entitled to her own opinion about the situation, as was Luz.

Willow didn’t look entirely convinced with her answer, but dropped the matter regardless. 

\---- ---- ----

It was Wednesday. 

The school day had come and gone with no sign of Amity, but Luz wasn’t deterred. 

Today was the weekly meeting of the resistance, the group of witches Luz and her friends had managed to recruit as allies to help overthrow Belos. Amity had never missed a meeting, so Luz was sure she’d be able to talk to her today. 

Essentially, the rebels gathered after school hours to strategize and hash out plans. And since there were witches gathered from all the tracks, there would be an exchange of skills and training as well. Just last week, Skara had been working with Luz on sound barrier glyphs. 

In terms of membership: Edric, Emira, Viney, and Jerbo had already graduated from Hexside. Edric and Emira were working to forge connections with other coven witches and gather information from the Illusion Coven that would help their plans. Meanwhile, Viney and Jerbo had become wild witches, refusing to join any coven.

Belos’ enforcement over wild magic and covenless witches only intensified after Luz had rescued Eda four years ago. The laws governing the Boiling Isles were rewritten and made more severe. Children were restricted from practicing multiple types of magic, even before they had to choose a track in middle school. Even worse, the number of petrifications never failed to increase with each passing year. 

With the help of Ed and Em’s illusion magic, wild witches like Viney and Jerbo were able to continually evade capture. But Luz knew that things would only get worse from here on out, especially once she graduated. She’d have a target on her back, as one of the growing number of multitrack students at Hexside who would refuse to join a coven. 

In addition to Willow and Gus, Barcus, Bo, Skara, Selene, Mattholomule and Boscha were in attendance. Matt and Boscha had joined their operation much later. Luz knew they needed contacts in every coven, and it had taken a great deal of effort and patience to get them on their side, given their rough relationship at the beginning of high school.

Gus had managed to reconcile with Matt two and a half years ago, when the latter helped him on his underground tunnelling project in exchange for an illusion clone that helped him pass his exams. From there, it was a matter of convincing Matt that life on the Isles would only deteriorate if Belos remained in power. It hadn’t been easy, but Gus and Luz had managed to do it.

With Boscha, well.

Luz hadn’t seen that one coming at all. 

In the months following the grudgeby game where Amity had gotten injured, she’d gone soft. She stopped picking on Willow and Gus, and even apologized for her actions. Boscha had finally seen the error of her ways, partly due to being put in her place after the game, and partly with the help of a certain Bard track student. 

When Luz walked into the room of secret shortcuts, she immediately noticed Boscha laying on a floor, her eyes closed and head in Skara’s lap. Skara glanced up and waved at Luz, her other hand continuing to stroke Boscha’s short hair. While Luz was certainly happy for them, she couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. She envied the fact that Boscha of all people had managed to get herself a girlfriend before she did. Luz waved back before setting her bag on the floor and making her way to the supply closet.

As Luz started pulling out various items, artifacts, and relics, other witches filed into the room. Amity was the last to enter, and shut the door behind her. Luz looked up and met her eyes, managing a small smile. Amity nodded back, her expression blank, before turning away to speak with Willow. 

Luz sighed, and locked the supply cabinet. She walked to the center of the room and clapped her hands together. 

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Luz summarized what they’d be doing for the day, and Amity stepped in after to provide an update from the Blight twins on their progress with making allies outside of Hexside. Things had been going relatively well, which made sense considering that the citizens of the Isles had been growing steadily more fearful of the Emperor’s tightening grip on their society.

Unfortunately, Luz wasn’t able to speak with Amity during the meeting. Gus and Matt had pulled her away and insisted on learning glyphs as a backup in case they ran out of juice during combat. Meanwhile, Amity practiced potion making with Boscha with support from Willow, who provided key ingredients for a rejuvenation elixir from her personal garden. 

As the meeting came to an end, Amity gathered everyone for a final set of reminders. 

“Great work today everyone,” She crossed her arms behind her back. “To those of you applying to covens, applications are due in Principal Bump’s office by tomorrow at noon. Try to turn them in sooner rather than later,” Luz shifted uncomfortably on her feet while everyone else nodded. “See you at the same time, next week.”

People began to file out of the room. Before they left, Willow shot her a knowing look while Gus gave her a pair of thumbs up. Luz waved goodbye to them before turning back to where Amity was standing in front of the open supply closet, rooting around for something. Luz saw her chance and made her across the room. As Luz leaned against the wall by Amity, she tried to gather the right words to say, but Amity found them much sooner. 

“Are you here to apologize?” She asked, finally turning to face Luz.

“Wh- What?” Luz gave her a baffled look. 

Amity scoffed and redirected her attention back to the closet.

“Of course you aren’t,” She pulled out a thick tome buried underneath a box of knick knacks and tucked it under her arm. 

Luz frowned. She was just concerned for Amity’s wellbeing. Why couldn’t she see that?

“Look, I shouldn’t have stormed out of the room like that last Friday, but in the moment I was feeling really hurt, so I wasn’t thinking very clearly.”

Amity closed the supply closet door and turned to Luz, folding her arms.

“Did it ever occur to you that what you said hurt me too?” At Luz’s wide-eyed look, Amity let out a dry chuckle. “Yes Luz, I have feelings too. Go figure.”

When Luz didn’t say anything else, Amity began walking away from her. After another moment, Luz snapped out of her stupor and followed her, quickening her pace so that she stood in front of the witch.

“Okay, I probably didn’t handle that conversation in the best way I could’ve, and I’m sorry that I hurt you,” Luz took a step closer. “That’s the opposite of what I want.”

Amity pressed her lips together.

“Will you respect my decision to join the coven then?”

Luz looked down at the floor, and then met Amity’s eyes with a saddened expression.

“I can’t.”

Amity clenched her jaw and pushed past Luz, making her way to the exit.

“That’s fine, I don’t need your approval anyway,” She called over her shoulder.

Luz took off after her again, this time grabbing hold of her hand.

“Amity, please hear me out.”

Amity rounded on her.

“Why should I? I already tried that once, and look where that got me!”

“That’s-”

“I get it, you don’t think I’m capable of handling myself,” Amity yanked her hand from Luz’s grasp. “Message received, loud and clear.”

Luz took a step towards her, but Amity backed away and reached for the door handle. Just as she began to turn it, Luz called out to her.

“I don’t think that!” Luz protested. “You’re one of the strongest witches I know,” She continued, her voice lowered considerably.

Amity paused. Without turning around, she responded.

“Then tell me. Why are you so insistent that I don’t join the Emperor’s Coven?”

“Um, uh, I-,” Luz stammered as her fingernails dug painfully into her palms. 

Was she really about to confess to Amity now of all times? And tell her the reason she’d blown up at her was because Luz couldn’t control her feelings for her? Amity wouldn’t accept that as an excuse, and probably reject her to boot. Afterall, what did she have to offer, other than the ability to unknowingly hurt the people she cared about? 

Luz had never felt more guilty for being so selfish. All she had been thinking about the past week were her own feelings. Amity deserved better. 

Someone better than her.

“I can’t say,” Luz finished lamely. 

She wanted to kick herself the moments the words came out of her mouth. She was such a coward.

Amity left the room without another word, leaving Luz feeling more lost and conflicted than ever before.

\---- ---- ----

That night, in the Owl House, Luz was utterly restless. She tossed and turned several times, but to no avail. Somewhere around 4:20AM, she rolled out of bed, stepping carefully around King so as to not disturb him as she exited her bedroom. She made her way down the hall to the stairs and into the living room. Once she reached the kitchen, she went straight to Eda’s emergency potion stash and grabbed a full vial labeled sleep draught.

It was the same kind of potion she’d messed up last week, the day she had first learned of Amity’s intentions to join the Emperor’s Coven. How ironic that she was now going to use it to finally get some rest, all because images of terrible things happening to Amity couldn’t stop flashing before her eyes.

Luz popped the cork off and chugged the entire thing, gagging at the potion’s bitter aftertaste. As she walked back up the stairs to return to her room, she could feel her eyes begin to droop. And as soon as her head hit the pillow, she finally drifted off into sleep.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skarscha rights


	3. Impromptu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fitful night of sleep, ill-advised shenanigans ensue.

The human brain is a funny thing. It is capable of incredible things, but sometimes it can work against people’s best interests. For instance, how activity immediately preceding sleep can influence one’s dreams. Harmless in theory, but in reality it can really mess with one’s mind.

Unfortunately, Luz had to discover this particular nitbit of information the hard way.

She woke up the following morning screaming bloody murder, yanking the blankets off her as she scrambled to her feet searching for her glyphs. In response, King jumped from his spot on the bed, and landed on his back with a yelp, startled from his rude awakening.

As Luz rifled frantically through her desk drawers, King pushed himself to his feet and approached her cautiously.

“Luz, are you-”

“Not now King!” She snapped.

When she finally turned around, King could barely contain a gasp in surprise.

Luz was completely drenched in sweat, she had bags under her eyes and they were completely bloodshot to boot. Her hair was standing up in every direction, which King would’ve found funny if he wasn’t feeling so concerned for her.

She was holding her notepad of glyphs tightly to her chest, breathing heavily. Her eyes darted from side to side, as if she expected all hell to break loose at any given moment. King frowned.

“Luz, what’s wrong?”

Luz averted her eyes from him, and brushed past him to the door. She took the pad of glyphs with her, and slammed the door shut. King sighed. His friend was clearly in no mood to talk, so he’d just have to try again later.

Once Luz took a quick shower and changed into her uniform, she felt a lot better. The nightmares that had plagued her dreams were nothing short of horrifying, but she reassured herself that everything was okay, because they weren’t real. 

She made her way downstairs and entered the kitchen, where Eda and Lilith were eating breakfast. Both glanced up and greeted her.

“Morning kiddo, how’d you sleep last night?” Eda asked as she shoveled food into her mouth, Lilith giving her a distasteful look as she sipped her tea. 

Luz tensed as she stood at the stove, her grip on the handle of a pan tightening. 

“Fine,” She managed to say, her tone flat.

Eda and Lilith exchanged a curious look, but said nothing more as Luz sat across from them and quickly ate her meal. Usually, their mornings were filled with lively chatter, courtesy of Luz, but today she was especially quiet. Surprisingly, it was Lilith who chose to break the silence. 

“Luz,” She laced her fingers together. “Are you alright?”

Luz paused, her fork lifted halfway to the air, before setting it down and putting her face into her hands.

“No,” She groaned.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eda offered, setting down her own cutlery. 

Luz shook her head, and peeked at a concerned looking Eda and Lilith between her fingers. 

“This is something I need to figure out on my own,” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Thanks though.”

“Of course, you know we’re always here for you,” Eda gave her a toothy grin. “But not until after I finish my morning brew. Mama’s gotta have her shit together before anything else.”

Lilith snorted and rolled her eyes while Luz smiled. The rest of breakfast was spent with Eda telling them yet another story of how she’d conned someone. Luz nodded along, but her mind was elsewhere. Once she finished her meal, she rose to her feet. She placed her dishes in the sink and picked up her book bag from where she’d dropped it on the floor.

“I’ll see you after school,” Luz turned to leave but hesitated. “And can you tell King I’m sorry? I wasn’t in the best state of mind when I woke up this morning.”

“Will do,” Eda nodded, and shooed her away. “Run along now, I don’t need Bump giving me grief if you’re late.”

Luz waved goodbye and set off towards Hexside. As she walked, her stomach flip flopped. 

Today was the day coven applications were due, and she hadn’t been able to tell Amity the truth, or change her mind.

There was only one thing left to do. 

\---- ---- ----

Once Luz reached Hexside, she sprinted to Principal Bump's office. She knew Amity, and figured that she'd turn in her application first thing in the morning rather than during lunch, where there'd be late stragglers flooding the hallway.

Just as she expected, when she rounded the corner and saw Bump’s office at the end, Amity was leaning against the wall besides the door. Her eyes were trained on a sheath of paper she was holding in both hands- her application. The door was closed and the lights inside were off. Luz figured that Bump hadn’t arrived at school yet, or was otherwise preoccupied.

“Amity!” Luz jogged down the hallway, and approached her friend.

Amity glanced up, and her expression soured once she realized who had called her name.

“What do you want?” She tucked the application closer to her, narrowing her eyes. “Wait, let me guess. You’re here to try and change my mind again, right?” 

Luz shook her head.

“No, I know I’ll never be able to change your mind,” She stepped closer, and Amity tensed as Luz placed a hand on her shoulder. Luz took a deep breath before saying, “I’m sorry.”

With her other hand, she discreetly reached into her back pocket to pull out a fire glyph. 

It was probably a bad idea to keep it there, lest she bring the saying “liar, liar, pants on fire” to life. But she didn’t care, because Luz only had one goal in mind:

Stop Amity from applying to the Emperor’s Coven, whatever it’d take.

Even if she had to burn the trust their friendship was built on to ashes. 

_ Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! _

The school fire alarm went off, screaming at such a high pitch that Luz slapped her hands over her ears and fell to her knees. In front of her, Amity drew a spell circle and conjured a pink barrier around her head to block out the sound. She was about to do the same for Luz when the sprinklers turned on, completely drenching them in icy cold water. 

Before you ask, no, her application wasn’t ruined. She had water-proofed and fire-proofed it the moment she had finished filling it out. Amity had enough experiences with Edric and Emira ruining her homework to know better. She quickly tucked it away into her bag and knelt down in front of Luz, grabbing her by the shoulders. 

“Luz!”

Luz didn’t respond, her jaw was clenched shut, and her hands were shaking. Her ears wouldn’t stop ringing, and it felt like her brain was folding into itself inside her skull. 

Amity cursed under her breath and drew a spell circle, creating a barrier around Luz’s entire body to shield the screams of the bell and the falling droplets of water from hitting her. 

“Luz?” Amity cupped her chin and gently tilted Luz’s head up. “Can you hear me?”

After a moment, Luz’s eyes fluttered open to familiar amber eyes tinged with concern. Her breath hitched when she noticed Amity was crying, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She instinctively lifted a hand and wiped it away with her thumb. Amity blinked, and opened her mouth to say something, but Luz beat her to the punch.

“Amity,” She breathed. “Te amo,” Luz murmured softly.

Her eyes slipped shut as she fainted and collapsed into her friend’s arms.

\---- ---- ----

Luz woke to her head pounding. She pressed her hands into her eyes and pushed herself into a seated position.

“Oh, good. You’re finally awake.”

Luz glanced up, and saw the school nurse making notes on his clipboard.

“What happened?” Luz ran a hand through her hair. Her mind was buzzing.

The nurse looked up from his clipboard and sighed.

“A student set a Potions class on fire, again. You fainted when the fire alarm went off. While the pitch of the alarm isn’t necessarily harmful to witches, it appears your human ears couldn’t handle it,” He placed a hand on his hip. “Your girlfriend carried you here, and refused to leave until I kicked her out.”

“G- Girlfriend?” Luz stuttered.

The nurse rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. Green hair, Abomination track, wouldn’t stop fussing over you,” The nurse chuckled. “I would’ve found it endearing if she hadn’t been such a pain to deal with.”

“Oh,” Luz’s mouth felt dry.

“Anyway, how are you feeling?”

“Um,” Luz took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I just have a headache.”

The nurse nodded and drew a purple spell circle. As the spell was completed, Luz felt the throbbing behind her eyes subside. 

“Better?”

Luz nodded gratefully.

“Much. Thank you.”

“Okay, great,” The nurse smiled. “It’s lunch right now, so I’ll let you go.”

Luz gasped.

“Lunch?!” She scrambled out of bed and hurriedly put her shoes on. “Oh no, no no no.”

“No need to get all worked up,” The nurse gave her a confused look. “There’s not even a special today.”

Luz bolted past him, threw the door of the infirmary open, and took off down the hallway. The cafeteria was on the way to Bump’s office. She’d see if Amity was there before running to the office. Her heart raced as her feet pounded against the floor tiles. She narrowly avoided mowing down a startled Oracle track student and turned a corner, reaching the cafeteria. 

Luz skidded to a halt once she entered the lunch room. Her eyes scanned the entire room, searching for a familiar green mop of hair, but Amity was nowhere to be found. Luz clenched her hands into fists.

She turned on her heels, and ran.

\---- ---- ----

Amity was tired.

Filling out the coven application, fighting with Luz, and losing sleep over both of those things were driving her slowly insane. She’d been anxiously waiting for today, just so she could turn in her application and put an end to all of the stress that had come with it. 

Luz would get over it, she had to.

“Amity.”

“Hmm?” Amity turned to head to Willow.

“Heads up,” Willow pointed behind her, down the hall.

Amity furrowed her eyebrows and turned around. She nearly dropped her application papers.

Luz was running at her, full speed. Amity’s eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back, but Luz managed to skid to a halt before she rammed into her.

“I made it,” Luz said between breaths. 

Amity frowned.

“Are you seriously still trying to stop me from applying to the Emperor’s Coven?”

Luz nodded and moved towards her, giving her a pleading look. 

“Amity, you don’t have to do this.”

Amity scowled.

“Yes, I do.”

They locked eyes for several seconds, and tension filled the air. 

But it was broken as Bump’s voice filtered out from inside the principal’s office as the door opened and Gus walked out.

“Next application!”

Amity turned to walk inside but before she could take a step forward, Luz dove to the floor and latched onto her legs. Amity almost toppled over before catching herself. Students in line behind Willow and Amity perked up at the noise, and directed their attention to the gang.

"Luz, let me go!" Amity hissed. "You're making a scene!"

“Good!” Luz shouted. “I want everyone to know that you’re making a horrible mistake!”

Luz clung onto Amity, her arms wrapped around her knees as she sat on the floor. Amity struggled to move forward, but Luz’s weight didn’t allow her to make any progress at all. 

“Luz,” Amity said with a warning tone. “Let me go. Right now.”

“No!” Luz shook her head. “I can’t let you do this!”

Willow let out a groan and face palmed. Gus joined her from where she was watching Luz and Amity, and raised an eyebrow at the scene before him.

“Wow.”

Willow shook her head in exasperation and dug a hand into her pocket in search of seeds as Amity and Luz bickered.

“Luz, I told you not to be reckless.”

Luz turned her attention towards Willow, tilting her head in confusion as she saw her draw a spell circle.

“Willow?” Her grip around Amity tightened. “What are you doing?!” 

“What any good friend would do,” Willow finished the spell, and vines sprouted from the seeds in her hand. They wrapped around Luz’s wrists and began tugging her away from Amity. “Saving you from yourself.”

Luz gasped.

“Stop-” Anything else she tried to say was muffled as another spell circle was drawn and a vine covered her mouth. 

Gus whistled.

“That’s not going to go over well.”

“Yeah, neither is what she did to Amity,” Willow deadpanned. She sighed, and turned to the aforementioned witch. “Go ahead, we got her.”

Amity nodded and gave Luz one last look before she stepped into Bump’s office, closing the door behind her. Once the door was shut, Willow dispelled the vines, leaving Luz sprawled on the floor. She peered down at her over the rim of her glasses.

“You’re welcome.”

Luz sat up and buried her face into her hands. Willow blew a loose lock of hair out of her eyes, and glanced at Gus.

“Can you take her back to the cafeteria to get some lunch? I don’t think she’s eaten yet.”

Gus nodded.

“Sure,” He knelt down beside Luz, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Need help getting up?”

Luz peeked at him through her fingers.

“No,” She rose unsteadily to her feet, with Gus following suit. “The only thing that’s wounded is my ego.”

Willow snorted.

“Good, I hope you learned something,” She shooed her away. “Go, before Amity comes back.”

Luz pressed her lips together, wanting to protest, but she knew leaving was the right call. Amity would be rightfully upset over what she’d done, and probably needed time to cool off.

She left without another word. She walked with Gus down the hallway, back to the cafeteria. After a few moments of silence, Gus wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

“Y’know,” He drawled. “If confessing your feelings in person is that hard, maybe you should just write Amity a love letter. You could leave it in her locker, if you’re able to avoid getting your arm chewed off that is.”

Luz glared at him.

“Ha ha,” She pulled away from him. “You’ve been spending too much time with Ed and Em.”

Gus grinned, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Maybe,” He tapped a finger to his chin contemplatively. “Or maybe you’ve been spending too much time with Amity, and have completely lost your sense of humor in exchange for pining after her so hard.”

Luz tried to punch him in the shoulder, but he dodged by jumping out of the way. He cackled as she chased him all the way back to the cafeteria.

\---- ---- ----

Luz dragged her feet all the way back to the Owl House. Memories of the day replayed over and over again like a broken tape, and she blushed when she recalled confessing to Amity in Spanish before she passed out earlier that day.

_ It’s a good thing I haven’t taught her any Spanish…  _

Luz shuddered at the thought of confessing her feelings to Amity like that, half-delirious from pain. If she was going to do it, she was going to do it right. On her own terms, and not from the surge of emotions that rushed through her when she saw Amity’s concern for her, marked by the tear tracks that stained her face.

“Oh Luuz!” Hooty stretched out and greeted her with a tap on her shoulder. “You won’t believe the bugs I ate today, hoot hoot!. There was a massive centipede that tried to eat a cricket but the joke’s on them!” Luz shoved Hooty out of her face. “Because I ate it instead!”

“That’s great Hooty,” Luz replied dully, ignoring his excited rambles. She learned how to tune him out years ago, for the sake of her own sanity.

Luz opened the front door and walked in, noting Lilith, Eda, and King seated on the couch. King was napping on Eda’s lap while she fiddled with what looked like a rusted relic. Lilith had her glasses on and her nose buried in a thick tome. Eda looked up at Luz in surprise.

“Oh, you’re back early,” She set the relic aside on the table. “Don’t you have your nerd club today with Baby Blight?”

“It’s an Azura Book Club,” Luz corrected, taking a seat across from Eda on a sofa chair. “And Amity and I aren’t on the best terms right now.”

Lilith glanced up from her book.

“What happened?”

Luz sighed. Although the events of the past week were not ones she wished to recount, maybe it’d help to get a second opinion on where she should move from here.

“Well…”

Luz summarized everything that had happened with Amity, starting from Willow breaking the Emperor’s Coven news to her, and ending with trying to stop Amity from submitting her application earlier today. Of course, she left out a few parts to avoid further embarrassment (particularly, successfully failing to confess to Amity that she was in love with her).

Regardless, when she finished, Eda burst out laughing, waking King in the process. It took Lilith swatting her sister upside the head for her to finally settle down.

“Edalyn!” Lilith scolded. “This is serious!”

“I’m sorry Lily,” Eda wiped a tear from her eye. “But this is the most hilarious story I’ve heard in years. Titan, when you and Minty Fresh get married, I call dibs on the speech. I’m sure everyone will love to hear how much you struggled to tell her how you feel.”

Luz’s face reddened.

“Eda!” 

“What?” Eda gave her an incredulous look. “How am I not supposed to laugh when you dive bombed Baby Blight to stop her from going into Bump’s office, and then had to be physically restrained by Willow of all people. She’s almost as soft as you.”

Luz slumped into her seat.

“I know, it was a really bad idea now that I’ve had time to think about it,” She ran a hand through her hair. “It’s just…”

“What?” Lilith asked.

“This morning. I was really frazzled because…” Luz swallowed. “I had a nightmare about Amity dying. And… I was so scared. I couldn’t think straight.”

Eda snorted at that, and Lilith jabbed an elbow into her side, making her wince in pain.

“Oh Luz,” King sat up from his spot on Eda’s lap. 

Luz pressed her lips together. 

“I’m sorry for snapping at you this morning King, it wasn’t your fault,” She sighed. “It was mine.”

King shook his head.

“It’s okay, I could tell something was up,” He hopped down onto the floor and made his way over to Luz, opening his arms. “Boo boo buddy hug?”

Luz managed a weak smile, and King jumped into her lap. Luz squeezed her friend tight, holding him close for a few seconds, before releasing him. King settled onto her lap and gave her a curious look.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Luz chewed on her lip.

“I’m not sure,” Her face dropped. “I don’t think Amity will want to see me anytime soon, so…” 

“Luz, you don’t want to put this off,” Eda folded her arms. “The longer you wait, the worse it’ll be when you actually manage to talk to her.”

“But I’m not ready to face her,” Luz protested. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“Luz, if you wait until you feel ready to face Amity, you never will,” Lilith leaned forward. “It is best that you speak with her sooner rather than later… Trust me, I know from experience.”

The room fell silent for a few moments, the weight of Lilith’s words sinking in.

“I…” Luz stared at her hands. “I know the right thing to do is to tell her the truth about how I feel, but I’m terrified of how she’ll react, especially given how I’ve acted towards her this past week. What if she hates me?”

Eda gave Luz a bittersweet smile.

“Luz, she could never hate you. She cares about you a lot, probably more than you know.”

“But…” Luz scrunched her eyebrows together.

“Eda’s right,” Lilith said. “I know it will be difficult, but doing the right thing is never easy.”

“Huh, I think that’s the first time we’ve actually agreed on something,” Eda tapped a finger to her chin contemplatively.

Luz snorted at that, making Eda, King, and Lilith smile.

“Okay,” Luz tightened her hands into fists, swallowing down her nerves. “I’ll do it. I’m going to talk to her.”

Eda clapped her hands together.

“Great!” She let out a shrill whistle, and the front door burst open. Hooty zoomed inside, startling Luz. “Hooty, see Luz out,” Eda turned her attention to Luz. “Don’t come back until you’ve talked to Pistachio. Witches in the Bad Girl Coven face their problems head on, as should you.”

“What-” Luz yelped as Hooty scooped her up and tossed her outside. “Wait! Eda!” Luz pounded on the now closed front door, but it didn’t open.

“That tickles! Hoot hoot!” 

Luz groaned.

“Mierda.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to post my skarscha fic today, but couldn't finish it in time. I'm halfway done, so it'll be up soon!


	4. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A return to where it all started.

The stone walls of the Bonesborough public library had never looked more intimidating. Luz pulled nervously on the sleeves of her multitrack uniform as she stared at the main entrance, where witches and demons filtered through in a steady stream of activity. 

As much as she wanted to run away and lock herself in her room for the rest of eternity, she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. Not to herself, and certainly not to Amity. 

Amity deserved the truth.

Luz steeled herself to enter the library. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. After a moment, she opened her eyes and nodded to herself.

_ Let’s do this. _

Luz made her way up the steps, and into the library. She walked past endless aisles of books, witches reading and working at long tables, and demons making hushed conversation. Once she reached the entrance of Amity’s secret hideout, she hesitated. Luz eyed the lever, it was the Otabin book from all those years ago, when she had first run into Amity in the library. 

Luz had tried her hardest to befriend Amity. At the time, she was partly inspired by Azura and Hecates’ enemies to friends dynamic, as well as seeing Amity’s softer side when she read to the kids. But, looking back on it now, she couldn’t deny that there had always been something about the green-haired witch that drew her in. 

Luz placed a hand on the spine of the book, and pulled. The doorway clicked, and slid open. Luz stepped inside, and it shut behind her with another soft click. It took her a second to locate Amity, because she was sleeping on a bean bag in the corner of the room. Amity was curled on her side, facing the door, her hands tucked under her head. Luz stared at her, and couldn’t help but notice how Amity’s tousled hair made her look cuter than usual.

It took Luz a good few minutes to snap out of her love-induced stupor, and finally walk over to Amity. She slowly kneeled down next to her friend, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Ams,” Luz whispered. “Wake up.”

Amity stirred, mumbling incoherently under her breath. Luz bit back a fond smile and leaned onto her hands as Amity sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. Once she noticed who had woken her, her eyes widened.

“Luz!?” She tried to stand, but couldn’t because her legs were numb. Instead, she flopped unceremoniously on her back. Luz suppressed a giggle. Amity sat up again, and scooted away from Luz to get some distance between them. “Wh- What are you doing here?”

Luz’s expression sobered. She looked down at her hands before meeting Amity’s eyes with a steady gaze.

“I want to apologize,” She cleared her throat before continuing. “For everything I’ve put you through this past week. You want to join the Emperor’s Coven, and I should’ve respected your decision from the get go, rather than try to change your mind.”

Amity was speechless. She hadn’t expected Luz to drop by at all, given how she stormed out of the room the last time they had an Azura book club meeting. The last time she’d seen her, Luz had tried to physically prevent her from turning in the application. What had changed?

“I never meant to make you feel like I thought any less of you, and your abilities as a witch. I was telling the truth when I told you that you’re one of the strongest witches I know,” Luz averted her gaze from Amity. “I was selfish. I didn’t consider your feelings at all.”

“Luz-” Amity started.

Luz turned back to Amity, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

“Amity, I am so sorry,” She dropped her head onto her knees. “I’ve been a horrible friend.”

Luz fell silent. Amity processed her words, turning them over in her head. While she appreciated her friend’s change of heart, and the apology that followed, she was still a bit confused as to why Luz’s attitude did a complete 180 in the span of a few hours. Amity tentatively placed a hand on Luz’s knee, making her look up.

“Luz,” Amity’s mouth was dry. “I won’t lie. What you said, and what you did… It really hurt me.”

Luz’s face crumpled, and it looked like she looked on the verge of bursting into tears. Amity quickly took her friend’s hands in her own and gave them a reassuring squeeze. That seemed to do the trick as Luz’s expression reverted back to something more subdued.

“After everything we’ve been through together, it felt like you didn’t trust me to take care of myself,” Amity managed a weak smile. “Normally, I find your concern for me endearing, but in this case I… I couldn’t stand it to be honest.”

Luz looked at Amity, the intensity of her gaze making the tips of her pointed ears turn red.

“This wasn’t an easy decision for me to make,” Amity continued, after glancing away from Luz to compose herself. “I’d been considering it far before you suggested it at one of the rebellion meetings. But, at the end of the day, it just made the most sense for me to apply to the Emperor’s Coven rather than anywhere else. I wouldn’t lose my connection to other magic, I wouldn’t have to deal with my parents being thorns in my side, and I could contribute to the rebellion by providing everyone with the information we need to take down Belos.”

Luz ran a thumb over Amity’s knuckles, making her shiver involuntarily. Amity sighed.

“I know you’re worried about me, but you should know that I’m also worried about you.”

Luz’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. 

“Wha-”

Amity raised a hand to stop Luz in her tracks. Luz’s mouth snapped shut and she let Amity finish. 

“Luz, when we graduate, you’re going to become a covenless witch,” Amity’s expression turned serious. “Belos pardoned you all those years ago to save face because you had managed to escape from his grasp. But the moment he finds out you’ve become an official wild witch, he’ll come after you again. I’m sure of it.”

“I know,” Luz winced. “I’m definitely not looking forward to it.”

“And neither am I,” Amity sighed. “But I want you to promise me to be careful. No more spontaneous trips to the Market, late night visits, or general tomfoolery.” 

“Okay,” Luz nodded. “I promise I’ll be more careful, but I want you to promise me the same.”

Amity paused. A thought crossed her mind, and a small smile made its way onto her face. She extended a hand toward Luz. She raised an eyebrow, and Luz’s eyes flashed with recognition. Luz grinned and clasped Amity’s hand firmly. Amity drew a spell circle over their conjoined hands, and they shook on it. As the magic faded, so did the troubled feelings Luz and Amity had been harboring for the last several days. 

“The Everlasting Oath is sealed,” Amity murmured.

“And this time, under way better circumstances,” Luz joked.

Amity scoffed, but didn’t pull her hand away. She chose instead to tangle their fingers together. 

“That’s a bit of a stretch, considering everything that led up to this.”

“True,” Luz admitted. “My bad.”

“It’s alright,” Amity gave her a weary smile. “At least we can finally put this mess behind us, and move forward.”

Luz’s breath hitched.

“Speaking of moving forward,” Luz swallowed the lump in her throat. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… It’s the main reason I was so worried about you joining the coven.”

A line formed between Amity’s eyebrows, and she tilted her head quizzically.

“What is it?”

“I- I, um,” Luz looked away bashfully.

Amity smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s okay, take your time.”

All that did was make Luz’s heart pound harder in her chest. She screwed her eyes shut, calling forth all her resolve. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes, directly meeting Amity’s gaze.

“Te amo,” Luz said, her voice strong and steady.

There was a pause. 

“Uh,” Amity gave her a confused look. “What was that?”

Luz’s blushed furiously, her own words finally catching up to her. She pulled away from Amity and buried her face into her hands.

“Ugh! I can’t believe I did it again!”

Something clicked in Amity’s brain. She remembered what Luz had said before passing out in the hallway- they were the same words she’d just uttered now. She had a strong feeling that whatever they meant, it was something serious.

“Luz,” Her throat felt impossibly dry. “Can you translate for me?”

Luz was silent. Amity considered asking again before Luz finally glanced up, and lowered her hands from her face. She looked incredibly nervous. More nervous than Amity had ever seen her before, far surpassing their first Grom.

“Amity,” Luz murmured. “I’m in love with you.”

Amity blinked. 

And blinked again. 

Then, the words finally hit her, like a shockwave reverberating throughout her entire body. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“It’s okay, take your time,” Luz parroted her own words back to her, making Amity flush in embarrassment. 

“I- ah, um,” Amity fidgeted in her seated position, pulling uncomfortably on her collar. Was it hot in here all of a sudden? “I- I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I know,” Luz gave her a rueful look. “You don’t have to answer right away. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way- I mean, you probably don’t… You could do so much better than me.”

Amity’s jaw dropped.

“Wh- What?!” She stuttered.

Was Luz serious? Did she not have any inkling of an idea of how head over heels she was for her?

“I’m just a dorky human,” Luz averted her gaze away from Amity. “And we’ve been friends for such a long time, so I get it if it’d make things weird. I just hope we can stay-”

“Luz,” Amity grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her in. Luz squeaked as their noses were almost touching. “You’re it for me too,” She whispered.

Luz let out an audible gasp, making Amity chuckle. Amity dropped her hands and leaned back, allowing Luz to fully digest her words. As she watched a sense of realization overcome Luz’s features, she couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.

“Y- You,” Luz pointed to Amity, and then to herself. “M- me?!”

Amity nodded, her eyes shining with unbridled delight.

“Wow,” Luz shook her head in disbelief. “Just… wow.”

Amity never wanted to kiss her more in that moment.

But she managed to hold herself back.

For now.

“I’m not exactly sure when my feelings for you started,” Amity began. “I think it was sometime between our first training session at the Knee, and your first day at Hexside.”

Luz was suddenly struck by a memory from years ago, popping her head out of a locker and watching Amity have what seemed to be an early mid-life crisis.”

_ “So you two go to the same school now! That doesn’t change anything!” _

Luz smiled at the recollection. Amity continued.

“You were my first crush,” The tips of her ears pinked again, and this time Luz noticed. “And my last.”

“Why?” Luz asked. Even though she felt like she was on cloud nine right now, her deeply-entrenched insecurities born from her experiences in the human realm still managed to rear their ugly heads. “Why me?”

Amity took both of Luz’s hands in her own. And if they were kind of sweaty, Luz didn’t say anything. 

“How could I not have fallen for you?” Amity bit her lip. “Luz, from the moment I met you, you managed to turn my world upside down. You challenged everything I thought was right, from how I should act to what I personally believed to be true. And when I tried to avoid you, or shut you out, you never gave up… You believed in me,” Amity gave Luz a warm smile. “And most importantly, you were unapologetically yourself. Kind, sweet, reckless at times, but always with good intentions. You gave me the courage I needed to embrace who I am, and not what my parents tried to shape me to be.”

Luz’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Amity leaned in closer to her, and rested their foreheads together.

“You mean everything to me.”

Luz let out a choked sob, and wrapped her arms around Amity, pulling her into an embrace. Her hands gripped the back of Amity’s uniform tightly. She buried her face in the crook of Amity’s neck, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

“How in the Isles am I supposed to top that?” She croaked.

Amity let out a dry huff of laughter. She rested her head against Luz’s shoulder. She had never felt more content.

“That’s your problem, not mine.”

Luz didn’t respond. 

So, they continued holding each other. 

Amity didn’t know how much time had elapsed, but eventually, Luz pulled away from her. She wiped her face clean of tears, and slapped her hands to her cheeks.

“Okay, my turn.”

Amity raised an eyebrow at her teasingly, a newfound confidence surging forth within her.

“Well?” She ran a hand through her tousled hair. “I’m waiting.”

Luz watched Amity fix her hair for a few seconds before regaining her focus. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth, but she managed to pull herself together. The words fell out of her mouth before she could think.

“It’s your eyes.”

Amity tilted her head, eyebrows scrunched together adorably.

“My eyes?” 

“They’re beautiful,” A deep blush blossomed over Luz’s cheeks, and Amity felt her face heat up at the admission. “Not as beautiful as you of course.”

Warmth radiated from Amity’s chest, and spread over her body.

“Your eyes were the first thing about you I noticed when we first met,” Luz took Amity’s hand in hers, and laced their fingers together. “Back in the human realm, there’s no shade of eye color that comes anything close to it. And they’re what made me realize I was falling for you.”

Luz ran a thumb over Amity’s knuckles, sending shivers down her spine.

“My first winter in the Boiling Isles, Willow caught me staring at you while we were doing homework at the Owl House. All of the lights were out because there was a lighting storm, and only candles lit the room. The way the fire reflected in your eyes… I was mesmerized,” Luz smiled to herself. “I’d probably been gawking at you for five minutes until Willow tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was enjoying the view.”

Amity laughed, and Luz’s smile widened.

“What did you say to her?” Amity asked.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember,” Luz ran a hand through her hair, messing it up even more. Amity’s fingers twitched as she held back the urge to fix her lopsided curls. “I probably stammered, fumbled for what to say, and then replied with something that made zero sense.”

Amity hummed.

“So, nothing out of the ordinary then.”

“Hey!” Luz gave Amity a playful shove, and Amity pushed back. 

“What? I’m not wrong am I?”

Luz pouted. 

“Let me finish!”

Amity rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

“If you insist,” Her tone had a teasing lilt to it, which didn’t go unnoticed by Luz.

“Anyway,” Luz continued. “From then on, my feelings for you only grew. It was like they’d been waiting under the surface for me to realize how much I cared about you, and how it was different than what I felt around our other friends. And once I had my epiphany, they just kind of… exploded.”

Amity narrowed her eyes.

“Wait, is that why-”

Luz nodded.

“Yeah, and even though I apologized to you for it back then, I’m still not sorry for torching the mountain of love letters people stuffed in your locker for Witch Endearment Day.”

Amity shook her head, never losing the easy smile she wore on her face. Then her eyes took on a different edge, one Luz hadn’t seen before. 

“I didn’t mind,” She leaned into Luz and whispered in her ear. “I  _ really _ liked it.”

Luz felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and bit her tongue. 

“M- Me too!” She squeaked.

Amity was delighted. Finally, years of Luz single handedly turning her brain into mush, and now she could finally return the favor tenfold. 

Luz coughed and tried to compose herself. It was much harder now that she was hyper aware of Amity's index finger tracing patterns on the palm of her hand. She considered biting her tongue again, this time on purpose, but relented.

“You’re the first person that shared the same interest in Azura. I know that might not seem like a big deal, since the books have millions of fans, but back home I was belittled and mocked for loving fantasy stories. I was told to focus on reality, and to stop dreaming. So when I saw your collection of the series, for the first time in years, I didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.”

Amity’s eyes softened. She scooted closer to Luz and brushed the bangs out of her eyes before taking her hand again.

“Once I got to know you, the real you, I was smitten,” Luz tucked a loose strand of Amity’s hair behind her ear. As she brushed a finger against the tip of her ear, she saw it twitch. “You’re selfless. You care deeply for the people around you, and you’ll do anything to protect them, even if it’s at your own expense. And when you mess up, you do your best to make amends,” Luz cupped a hand over Amity’s cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb. “Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. But you’ve proven time and time again that it can be done.”

Amity placed her hand over Luz’s and looked into her eyes.

“Lo eres todo para mí,” Luz murmured. “And my life in the Boiling Isles wouldn’t be the same without you in it.”

This time, Amity didn’t need a translation.

It was clear that they were very much on the same page.

So, she leaned in and kissed Luz with everything she had. And Luz kissed her back. Her lips were warm, and Amity hummed happily as they exchanged soft kisses. 

Luz was the first to break away, gasping for air. Then a mischievous smile overtook her face and she pushed Amity to the floor. Amity yelped as Luz peppered sloppy kisses all over her face. Amity laughed, and told her to stop, but neither made a move to do so.

It was only when Luz blew a raspberry on her collarbone that Amity finally pushed her off.

“Luz!” Her face was tomato-red.

Luz grinned cheekily at her.

“Too much?”

Amity shook her head.

“Never,” She sat up and pushed Luz to the floor. “But it’s my turn now.”

Luz giggled as Amity repeated what she had done to her earlier. But instead of blowing a raspberry, Amity finished her display of affection by embracing Luz and resting her head on her chest. Luz returned the gesture by wrapping one arm around Amity’s waist and using her free hand to stroke her hair.

They stayed like that for a long time.

\---- ---- ----

“Do you think they figured it out?”

“Hmm?” Gus looked up from his frutterburger and scrunched his eyebrows together.

“Amity and Luz,” Willow waved a hand in the air. “The fact that they’re in love with each other.”

Gus’ eyes widened and he hurriedly swallowed his food before responding.

“I would hope so. Yesterday was their weekly book club meeting, right?”

Willow nodded.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t put it past Luz to skip and avoid Amity instead.”

Gus shook his head.

“Nah, she’s never missed one of their book club sessions,” He tapped a finger to his chin. “Although what she did yesterday was pretty out there, even for her.”

Willow snorted.

“You’re not wrong,” She rested her head on her propped up hand. “I’m surprised those two haven’t driven me up a wall yet. Watching them dance around each other for years has been frustrating, to say the least.”

“Agreed.”

Willow narrowed her eyes.

“You only caught on last year!”

Gus raised his hands defensively.

“Hey! I thought they were just gals being pals.”

Willow gave him an incredulous look.

“Gus, they’ve gone to Grom together the past three years and are basically attached at the hip. Amity never fails to go red whenever Luz does anything remotely sweet. And remember when Luz torched all of the letters people gave Amity for Witch Endearment Day?”

Gus chuckled.

“How could I forget? It was my idea!”

Willow gaped at him.

“It was?!” She tried to swat him on the head but he leaned out of the way. “Gus!”

“What?” Gus shrugged. “Trust me, it was much better than the alternative Luz had planned.”

Before Willow could ask for more details, a familiar voice cut through the air.

“Hey guys!”

Willow and Gus swiveled their heads to see Luz walking over to their table, lunch tray in hand. They waved in greeting, and Luz sat down next to Willow.

“What are we talking about?” Luz asked as she began to dig into her meal.

“Your less than pleased reaction when Amity was flooded by admirers for your first Witch Endearment Day,” Willow shot her smug look.

Luz choked on her food, and Gus slapped his hand on her back in an effort to help her breathe. After a few prolonged seconds of coughing and gasping, Luz pulled herself together.

“I still think we should’ve gone with my idea Gus.”

Gus raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think Amity would’ve appreciated us booby trapping her locker. It probably would’ve backfired and ended up covering her with griffon feathers and glue instead of whoever tried to give her a letter.”

“Gus is right, and if that had happened I would’ve come after you both,” Amity said as she sat down next to him and set her lunch tray on the table.

Willow and Gus exchanged a nervous look. Had Luz and Amity made up? Or would they have to play peacekeepers for the rest of the lunch period?

Luz was unfazed by Amity’s threat.

“Amity, I think you would’ve looked adorable,” Her eyes lit up. “Oh my god! You would’ve made the cutest little pollito!”

Amity flushed.

“I don’t know what that is!” Luz laughed. “And I would’ve looked like a fool!”

Luz continued to tease Amity, and reached across the table so that they were holding hands. Willow and Gus exchanged another look. After a moment, Willow extended a hand to Gus. 

“You owe me 50 snails Porter.”

Gus groaned and began digging into his pocket to pay his end of the bet.

“Dang it! I thought it would’ve taken them longer to figure it out!”

Luz and Amity turned towards their friends. While Luz simply gave them a weird look, Amity narrowed her eyes at Willow and Gus.

“I cannot believe you bet on our relationship.”

Luz hummed, and then nodded her head.

“I can.”

“Consider it payback for us tolerating your nonsense,” Willow accepted the snails from Gus and tucked them away in her bag. She laced her fingers together. “Now, tell me everything.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! This fic was a joy to write, an I hope you enjoyed it. If y'all liked this fic, check out my other works - I've got lots of toh stuff written, with more on the way. I'm off to finish my skarscha fic and get back into writing Zero (infinity train au). FYI Witch Endearment Day was a reference to [this fanfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963221/chapters/65810641). 
> 
> pspsps skarscha stans I see you. Read [Sing for Absolution](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015817/chapters/71215914) and [Catalyst](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28505871/chapters/69848904) for more skarscha content.
> 
> Leave your thoughts and rambles below :))

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my other toh works [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexa_Alycia/works). Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/godless_glasses), [tumblr](https://lexa-alycia.tumblr.com), [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/godless.glasses/)


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